Schoolyard remembrance

St. Jude students plant a tree to remember fallen classmate, mother

West Boca — Two pink butterfly cutouts hung from the live oak sapling next to a classroom building at St. Jude Catholic School.

A bronze plaque emblazoned with "Heaven's Angels" and the names Nancy and Joey Bochicchio lay in front of the small tree.

"You will always be in our hearts," read the inscription. Just below that was the date: Dec. 12. It's the day that the 47-year-old mother and her daughter, 7, died.

Joey was a second-grader at St. Jude.

The 390-strong St. Jude student body stood under a bright morning sun Friday to remember their departed schoolmate. They planted a tree in remembrance of Joey and her mother, who were shot to death and both found by security officers at Boca Raton's Town Center mall.

Police haven't found the killer. Last week, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and Boca Raton police formed a task to investigate the killings and other crimes that may be connected.

School officials said they held the ceremony so people won't forget and to set an example for children who lost one of their own. Bochicchio family members joined the schoolchildren and school officials in prayer at a morning Mass. Afterward, they poured out to the school grounds for a simple ceremony with prayers and song.

"It was beautiful," said JoAnn Bruno, the sister of Nancy Bochicchio. "The children were just heartwarming. It just really touched me."

Principal Debbie Armstrong said the school wanted to do something that was a joyful reminder of Joey.

"The goal was really to make it as hopeful and uplifting as we could," she said.

Each class from kindergarten to eighth grade signed a yellow card that was attached to plants surrounding the tree. Family members and children took turns shoveling dirt onto the roots.

Youths watered the sapling. The ceremony ended with the entire school singing This Little Light of Mine.

"It meant a lot to the family that Joey and my sister won't be forgotten," Bruno said. "And I know Joey and my sister were looking down on us and appreciated it."

Luis F. Perez can be reached at lfperez@ sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6641.